


Merry Bad End

by RainedMirror



Series: These Melodies We Call Life [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Bullying, Gen, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Keith (Voltron) Angst, Keith and Shiro are Adoptive Siblings, Lance (Voltron) Angst, Loneliness, Shiro (Voltron) Angst, Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 10:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,850
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13611363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RainedMirror/pseuds/RainedMirror
Summary: It doesn't take too long before everything breaks.





	Merry Bad End

You walk into the classroom together with Pidge and Hunk, as per usual. Nothing different from the usual Garrison routine that you are so used to, and as per usual you notice a flower pot with a flower on a desk in the corner. You know that desk: it belonged to the new guy, Keith Kogane, the one that recently aced all the simulators and tests recently, known for his loner tendencies and being a complete loggerhead to authority. You recall at the back of your mind that the only person who Keith could tolerate was the lieutenant, Shirogane Takashi, and even then it was a ‘You don't step on my boundaries, and I won't step on yours’ kind. 

You know the rumours about him too, the kind that mocks him, saying that he cheated, he is an alien, outsider, all those kinds of derogatory remarks. You knew of course, ever since you declared him your unofficial rival. You largely joined in with the rumours, since you don't want to get it after all. 

You can picture his smirking face in your head now. Clearly somebody, despite those rumours, liked him well enough to leave flowers on his desk. And it has been happening for a while now too. You let out a huff as you sat down in your seat, as Pidge and Hunk poked fun at your personal expense. 

Keith walked in, in his lonesome, as per usual, walking to his desk. And that's when you notice, he stops. He stops and stares at the flower on his desk. You try to read his expression, but his face denies any betrayal of emotion. He lets out a sigh, before putting that flower pot and flower away. 

Shirogane enters to give his lecture. You attempt to pay attention to his lecture in an attempt to beat Keith in something. Nothing like a typical day. 

\-----

You walk into the classroom together with Pidge and Hunk, as per usual. Nothing different from the usual Garrison routine that you are so used to, and as per usual you notice a flower pot with a flower on a desk in the corner. You know that desk: it belonged to the new guy, Keith Kogane, the one that recently aced all the simulators and tests recently, known for his loner tendencies and being a complete loggerhead to authority. You recall at the back of your mind that the only person who Keith could tolerate was the lieutenant, Shirogane Takashi, and even then it was a ‘You don't step on my boundaries, and I won't step on yours’ kind. 

You know the rumours about him too, the kind that mocks him, saying that he cheated, he is an alien, outsider, all those kinds of derogatory remarks. You knew of course, ever since you declared him your unofficial rival. You largely joined in with the rumours, since you don't want to get it after all. 

You can picture his smirking face in your head now. Clearly somebody, despite those rumours, liked him well enough to leave flowers on his desk. And it has been happening for a while now too. You let out a huff as you sat down in your seat, as Pidge and Hunk poked fun at your personal expense.

Unusually, the lecturer arrived. Keith was never late, he may have hated authority, but he was never late. And secondly, the lecturer wasn't Lieutenant Shirogane, it was a different lecturer. 

‘Shirogane is the midst of mourning, so he won't be coming for the rest of the week.’ was all you heard from the lecturer before you wandered off into your own thoughts again. 

Odd. 

\-----

Keith didn't show up the third day. 

\-----

Or the fourth. 

\-----

Or the fifth. 

\-----

Next week Monday rolled around, and Keith was still nowhere in sight. This time round, Shirogane came back and your curiosity beckoned you to ask if he knew what happened to Keith. You may have declared him his rival, but that doesn't mean you weren't concerned. 

Upon hearing your words, Shirogane suddenly had his eyes glazed over. You look at him with a confused face, as he turned his face away from you. 

‘He's gone, Lance.’

The fact he used your name is wasn't surprising, Shirogane was one of the favourite lecturers in the entire Garrison. 

‘Gone? You mean, he left, right? When is he coming back?’ 

‘Lance. He is never coming back.’

You feel anger bubble up in you. 

‘Never? He has to! He is idolised enough that people leave flowers on his desk!’

‘Cadet.’

Shirogane’s word stopped you in your yelling. 

‘Cadet, it is better if I show you. Come meet me after your day is over.’ Finishing those words, he turned and left, leaving you alone. 

\-----

During lunch, you hear heresy about you running Keith out of the Garrison, how you can never fill his shoes, how you can never truly beat him, how you are useless and how Keith should have stayed and so on. You largely ignore them. Pidge and Hunk barely look at you in the eyes. 

\-----

After class, you head to the office to look for Shirogane. You find him and he takes you outside into his car, and he started driving away from the Garrison. 

The drive is a long silent one. You realise that Shirogane is taking you to the nearest town. 

‘So, Keith is just hospitalised, right?’ you find yourself asking. He doesn't answer.

The drive returns to being a silent one, and when the drive ends, you realise, that Shirogane has not driven you to the hospital, but instead a funeral home.

‘You're joking, right?’ those words spill out of your lips, betraying the amount of denial you have. 

‘Follow me.’ Shirogane says, as he leads you through the funeral home and into the mortuary office. 

‘Ah, Shirogane. I didn't expect to see you so soon. The body has been prepared as to your specifications, would you like to check?’ the mortician greeted, as the two of you entered the office. 

Shirogane gave a curt nod, then the mortician brought you two through the office and towards a lone casket. 

Shirogane looked in, as if checking if the body was correct. After he had done so, he beckoned you to look in. What you saw, confirmed every single thing you tried to deny. 

Lying in the casket, was Keith Kogane, in his signature black shirt, red jacket and jeans. His face looked peaceful, but the fact that he is in the casket, meant he was undeniably dead. 

‘No, no, nononono.’ you muttered out, taking a step backwards. At this point, Shirogane started taking his leave. In the midst of your grief, you somehow still followed him back to the car. 

Shirogane hasn't started driving yet, so you two still sat at the front of the car parked outside the funeral home. 

‘Keith was my adopted younger brother, you know.’ Shirogane spoke. So, that was why the two were close enough to be on tolerant levels.

‘I found him dead Tuesday morning after he hung himself. He must have hung himself Monday night after the bullying broke him. I called the Garrison to give me the week off, and to… steady myself, I guess.’ he continued. ‘You said flowers were left on his table, I am not sure about you, Lance, but both Keith and I are Japanese. Putting flowers on a classmate’s desk means you are mourning them after their death. Putting it on an alive classmate’s table means you are telling them to go die.’ Oh. No wonder Keith always stared at the flower on his table. ‘Lance, I knew Keith was being bullied for months and I did nothing about it. I am such a useless older brother, aren't I?’

You don't know the words to comfort the older brother who is mourning his dead younger brother.

Shirogane drove you back to the Garrison, before telling you the funeral is on the Friday evening. 

\-----

You walk in the classroom alone. Pidge and Hunk have oddly ditched you today, but you are fine with that since yesterday's stuff was still on your mind.

Pidge and Hunk couldn't look at you when you walked in. 

\-----

You walk into the classroom alone again. A flower pot with a flower in it shows up on your table. You stare. 

\-----

You walk into the classroom alone again. A flower pot with a flower in it shows up on your table. You sigh. The rumours about you get more degrading. 

\-----

It's Friday, the day of Keith's funeral. You walk into the classroom alone, notice the flower pot with a flower in it on your desk. Shirogane seems to be more distracted than usual. 

You slowly wondered how Keith dealt with it. You can barely tolerate four days of being alone, and from what Shirogane said, it had been months Keith suffered through this before his demise. 

Class pass by quickly. 

You meet up with Shirogane quietly, in black for Keith's funeral. It was a simple one, with nobody around except you and Shirogane. That's when you realised Keith was truly alone except for Shirogane, and you might have made things worse by declaring him your rival. And now, you realised you are the cohort’s next target. That explains why both Hunk and Pidge haven't been with you, they don't want to get targeted either. 

Shirogane dropped you off to the Garrison, before saying he has some things to do.

\-----

You walk into the classroom alone. Shirogane doesn't show up on Monday. You wonder. The flower pot and flower sits quietly on your table. The rumours get worse. 

\----- 

You walk into the classroom alone. Shirogane doesn't show up on Tuesday. You wonder. The flower pot and flower sits quietly on your table. The rumours get worse. 

\-----

Shirogane is found dead at his apartment, is what you hear from the news this morning. The police has currently classified it as suicide, but couldn't determine a reason. Well, you knew. Or rather, you could guess. 

You walk into the classroom alone. The flower pot and flower sits on your desk. Pidge and Hunk had gone off to laugh with some other people. 

\-----

You silently sit in your dorm room. Partially glad you chose a single room. But still… 

This has gotten out of hand, you are now the next target, and Shirogane and Keith are both gone. You absentmindedly play with some stuff, before realising you have picked up a rope and have tied into a noose. 

You stare at the noose in your hands. 

You are alone, you are bullied, mocked, degraded with nobody to turn to. You are breaking. Keith survived several months. You? Two weeks? Not even a month. Pathetic. When was the last time you honestly laughed or cried? You don't remember. You sigh. 

Before you know it, the rope has found its way hanging from the ceiling, with it around your neck, and you standing on a precarious edge. 

You jump off. You ignore the consequences it has on other people. There's no way back now, after all.

**Author's Note:**

> 090218 Added extra lines, edited story grammar and spelling mistakes.


End file.
